Renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi dismissed a viral report claiming he alleged being targeted by a US attack on Nigerian territory, labelling it as outright fake news.

On his verified Facebook page, Gumi clarified that he never made such a statement and never believed such a scenario was possible.

“There is fake news going viral now that wrongly claims that I said I was targeted by the US attack on Nigerian soil, or something to that effect,” he said.

Dismissing the report, the cleric added, “I never said so, and I also never thought of such a possibility. I am comfortably staying in my home with my family without fear, intimidation, or apprehension.”

He explained that the misunderstanding probably came from a lecture he gave at a mosque, where he described a previous security incident involving Boko Haram.

“I believe the source of misinterpretation was a lecture I gave in the mosque on how, in August 2012, I was told that Boko Haram had targeted me for elimination,” Sheikh Gumi stated.

According to him, the attempted attack failed when the assailants were killed by their own device. “The two people who came to execute the plan were killed instantly when the bomb detonated in their hands near my house,” he said.

Sheikh Gumi therefore urged media organisations that published the report to correct the narrative.

“I advise all news agencies that reported the fake news to publicly retract it and tender their apologies,” he added.

ASA